


Says He's Gonna Teach Me Just What Fast Is

by alienharry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Roller Coasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 07:03:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16080953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alienharry/pseuds/alienharry
Summary: All Louis expected was to ride his favorite amusement park's new roller coaster on opening day. He didn't account for Harry or his fear of the rides to accompany him, but complaining is the farthest thing from his mind.





	Says He's Gonna Teach Me Just What Fast Is

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from _Diet Mountain Dew_ by Lana Del Rey
> 
> I'd of course like to thank my amazing beta [Michael](http://tippingbrandy.tumblr.com) for giving me a reason to live when he agreed to beta this

Louis loves roller coasters. 

Ever since he was a little lad and his mum took him on the Caterpillar ride at the Yorkshire fair, he’s been in love with the feeling. He always walks a bit funny afterwards, dizzy as hell, but that’s just a part of the fun. Going fast, not having to control anything, just going where he’s taken and feeling the wind in his hair - it’s something he can never get enough of. 

It’s a family trait, he supposes, part of their geneology or heritage or whatever. Every Tomlinson has taken fabulously to roller coasters, and Louis knows when the twins get tall enough, they’ll love them too. 

There’s an amusement park in Surrey, just an hour drive outside of London, that Louis’ been frequenting since he moved out on his own. He’s been on every ride at least three times on his own, not counting the times he’s taken his siblings with him. 

Nowadays he doesn’t go alone very often. His sister, Lottie, moved down to London a little over three months ago, and Louis finds himself dragging her out to the park every few weeks. 

When the posters and commercials started making an appearance everywhere within a stone’s throw from Surrey, they started making plans to be there on opening day of the newest roller coaster. Sure, they’ll visit the park religiously every few weeks after it opens, but being there for the ride’s premier is a privilege they  _ deserve _ . Afterall, it feels like half of Louis’ salary gets thrown into the park each year. 

It’s been just over three months of planning, just of three months of excitement, just over three months of Lottie  _ promising _ she wouldn’t miss opening day for the world, and yet when the the day comes, she gets called into work, abandoning Louis and making a vague statement of ‘going sometime soon.’ 

Louis just about gagged when he heard the lack of assurance in that. 

Instead of sitting by, miserable, and reading the online reviews of the ride by people whose sisters  _ didn’t _ ditch them last minute, Louis goes anyway. He doesn’t tell anyone, posts online about spending the day in his pajamas, and plans on acting like it’s his first time when he and Lottie come back ‘sometime soon.’ 

It’s been just over three months, and Louis’ not missing this for  _ anything _ . 

When Louis gets to the park and makes his way to the line for the new ride, he’s one of the first one’s there. Saying that, there’s still an “ _ Hour and a Half Wait _ ” sign just behind him. The park’s only just opened, but everyone was excited to get there and try it out, Louis’ just lucky to arrive when he did. 

The line starts filling quickly behind him, and in front of him, it stretches farther than he can see. There’s a nervous looking man standing right in front of him. He’s looking around, eyes wide and, well, terrified if Louis had to guess. His shoulders hunched forward and sweat forming at his brow despite the sun not even being over them yet this early in the morning. He looks like he’s just escaped prison or something, but Louis doesn’t bother him, figuring it’s got to just be the excitement affecting him oddly. 

About 20 minutes go by, the line moves slowly, and the lad starts breathing heavily, panting towards the ground and he holds his body up with his hands on his knees. 

“Y’alright there?” Louis asks, guess that since nobody else is here stressing, the poor guy is on his own. 

“Huh?” He looks up, his face etched in pain. The only thing Louis can see for a moment is  _ green _ . “Oh, yeah. Just, a little nervous.” He chuckles nervously, but it looks more pained than humorous. 

Louis watches him, gauging his reaction to the question, and thinks he may be more nervous than he is ill. “You usually get this freaked out before roller coasters?”

“Not - Not typically.” He stands up then, talking seems to have taken him out of his brief panic. “I’m usually much more cool.” He spreads his hands out in front of him looking anything but mellow. “This one’s just so big.” 

It’s actually not. Big, that is. It’s said to be one of the faster ones at the park, but it’s not too large, and they shouldn’t be on it longer than two minutes. Louis doesn’t say that though, doesn’t want to upset this handsome stranger or, god forbid, send him into another panic. 

“Yeah?” Louis asks, wanting to keep the conversation moving as it seems to be working for the lad. “What’s your favorite ride?”

“The, um…” He takes a pause, thinking through his answer, but nothing comes to him. 

“It doesn’t have to be a roller coaster,” Louis tells him. “It could be the teacups or something.” The lad starts shaking his head, a crinkle to his nose. “Not the teacups then. You don’t like spinning?

“I don’t like  _ moving _ .”

Louis knows he’s supposed to be serious, to keep this man from freaking out, but he laughs at that, loud and boisterous, echoing throughout the open air. “You might be in the wrong place then, mate.” 

“You’re telling me.”

The line moves forwards and they get to take a couple steps. In the distance there’s a sign that says “ _ One Hour Wait _ ” and the lad groans. His hands fall onto his knees again when they stop walking, and it makes Louis wonder what on  _ Earth _ he’s even doing there, looking as miserable as he does. 

Louis debates saying anything, figuring at first it’d be kinder to just let him be, but then he remembers the lad being better off when they had a bit of a conversation going.  

He takes a step next to the lad. “If I ask you a question, will you promise not to get offended?” 

“I’ll do my best not to.”

“Have you ever actually been on a roller coaster before?” Louis asks. 

“Definitely not,” the lad answers, completely honest in a way that makes Louis laugh. “They’re terrifying, and they go so fast. People get sick on them, and if even one screw is out of place, you’re  _ dead _ . Just -  _ bam _ \- it’s the end of you, your brains are on the cement and all you’ll be remembered for is ruining the one place everybody goes to have fun.” 

By the time he finishes taking, he’s standing up straight, but his panting hasn’t stopped. Though this time it’s more in anger than an anxious mess. 

“Those are some, uh, pretty graphic fears.” Louis’ not sure what else to say, but it doesn’t seem to be the right thing as the man shakes his head and is back to leaning on his knees. “Hey, woah, breathe, mate. It’s alright, you’re alright.” He touches the man’s shoulders lightly this time. 

“I fucking  _ hate _ roller coasters,” he spits, and of course Louis has to laugh at his disdain. 

“Then why are you here?” The lad glares at him for his questions so Louis backtracks. “Not, like. That sounded rude. I just meant you don’t have to be here. If you’re being forced or something, I can help sneak you out of here and we can call the police or summat.” 

The lad chuckles. “No, I’m - ” He shakes his head as if resetting his sentence. He stands up again and Louis’ hand falls off his shoulder. “I just moved in with a stranger, and he’s a big fan of coasters. He wants to come back on Tuesday when we both have a day off, and he wants me to come as a bonding experience or whatever.” 

“Did you tell him you didn’t like roller coasters?” 

“And break his heart?” The lad looks at him as though he’s crazy, and Louis backtracks his words, wondering if he told the lad to murder his roommate’s family or summat. “You should see this guy - he’s the happiest person in the world. If I said I didn’t like them, I’m certain he’d frown.” 

He says it with such certainty that Louis almost feels guilty for his sarcastic response. “Oh  _ no _ . We wouldn’t want him to  _ frown _ .” 

Almost. 

“Shove off,” the lad pushes him and he stumbles slightly. “I’m a nice person, I don’t like when people are mad at me.”

Louis laughs. “I can see just how good you are. You’re facing one of your biggest fears just so your flatmate has a good time on this day off. That’s pretty admirable.”

“Yeah?”

“‘f course.”

The line moves again, and this time they move a bit more of a substantial distance. It feels like a victory for everybody in line who starts cheering, but the lad looks more spooked than ever having to move forward. 

He leans towards Louis and whispers, “Do you mind writing that in my obituary?” 

Louis laughs. It’s not been too long they’ve been in line, but Louis’ already glad they found each other. Being here with Lottie would’ve been great, but he thinks he found a new mate in this lad. 

Maybe more than just a mate. The way the lad smiles, the crinkles by his eyes and the dimple on his cheek - if Louis were a weaker man, he’d be leaning on his knees and panting alongside him. 

“I’m Louis, by the way,” He introduces himself, sticking his hand out for the stranger to shake. 

“Harry.” His hand practically envelopes Louis’ and  _ Christ _ . He’s definitely someone Louis wants to be more than mates with. “Styles. 24. I’m survived by my mother, Anne and my sister, Gemma.” 

Louis can’t help but laugh again as he pulls his hand back. “Mate, honestly, I promise you’ll be alright. If we get up to the front and you don’t want to go on, they have a back exit.” 

“Oh, I’m going on,” Harry insists. “If I do this and I hate it, I’ll tell Niall I’m too ill to come back.”

“Why wouldn’t you just go with him your first time, that way at least you’d be spending the day bonding with him and whatnot.” 

He shakes his head, lips thinning in his disagreement. “He doesn’t need to see this. I’d be too embarrassed.” 

“So you save your panicking for strangers?” Louis asks. 

Harry looks at him then, his eyes going down Louis’ body and back up to his face. Suddenly, he can feel the heat of the sun on him. “You’re handling it pretty well.”

“Yeah, well.” Louis clears his throat. When did he get so thirsty? “If it wasn’t for me we’d still be two hundred feet back.”

“You’re a hero.” It’s said dryly, nothing but sarcasm in his tone. 

Louis may be in love. 

From there, the line continues to move, the people on the roller coaster continue to scream, and Louis continues to keep Harry from getting too deep in his head under the guise of getting to know everything they possibly can about each other.

He learns that Harry’s a primary school teacher, so during the summers he has freedom, something that’s never burned him until now with “this  _ damn _ coaster”. He also learns that they have a similar taste in music, and that they were even at the same concert almost a  _ decade _ ago. It’s insane the coincidences and Louis finds himself liking this stranger more and more. 

The most important thing he learns, though, is that Harry’s funny as hell. He keeps Louis laughing the entire time, sometimes hard enough that his stomach hurts. His jokes are subtle, unexpected, and Louis loves every minute of it. 

Usually, the line to rides can seem like hours, being in the hot sun, doing nothing but anticipating the ride, but listening to Harry, watching him tell stories and make puns, makes the time positively fly by. 

It’s almost a shock when they’re out of the sun and under the pavilion, in their separate lines for each row of seats. They’re the next in line and despite Harry’s slight twitching, his nerves are basically unseen. They’ve been talking for the hour, and things seem okay. 

“Alright, last chance,” Louis says as the cart pulls up in front of them and the previous passengers begin to unload. “Are you ready?” 

“No. I’m going to be sick.” But Harry seems alright, his words clear and his breathing normal. 

“Let me rephrase that,” Louis tries. “Are you absolutely certain you want to go?”

Harry nods. He’s facing forward, still in front of Louis, watching as the workers lift the metal lapbars up. “Yes. Absolutely.” 

“And if you don’t like it?” 

“Then I won’t come back.” 

The workers approach the gates and Louis prepares for them to open, for Harry to face his fear. Somehow, in the hour and a half since arriving, this has been so much more than just a new ride for Louis. He’s invested in Harry, in making sure Harry doesn’t work himself up into a right state, making this a bad trip for him. 

It’s the first time Louis’ at an amusement park for something other than just the roller coasters. 

“And if you die?” Louis asks. 

Harry turns to him then, a soft smile on his face and no sign of worry. “Then at least you’ll be there with me”

Louis melts, can feel his knees go weak as a stupid grin dances across his face. It’s been an hour and a half and he’s in too deep. 

The gates open and then Louis’ following Harry as they get on the ride. Once everyone is seated, the bar goes down over them, and Harry’s reaching out for Louis’ hand, holding it so tightly Louis’ scared his fingers may break by the end, but it still doesn’t stop him from grinning like a fool. 

And then they’re off. 

 

 

When the ride is over and they’re out of the seats and into the warm sun again, Louis remembers why he loves roller coasters so much. The ride wasn’t the best in the park, but it was new and fast and incredible. He’s kind of dizzy and can feel himself walking crooked, but it’s nothing to how Harry’s reacting. 

His long legs are practically walking him in circles with their bowleggedness, and he can’t seem to stop laughing. His hair was ruined from the minute they took off, windblown back like he’s been electrocuted. 

“Again, again, again,” Harry’s chanting with someone that sat in front of them on the ride. Both of their hands are stuck in the air and they’re trying to get the rest of the riders to chant along with them. 

It isn’t working. 

Rather than going back and waiting in the long line for another few hours, Louis pulls Harry aside with a different proposition. “You said you and your flatmate are coming back Tuesday?”

“I’ll be coming back everyday if I can help it,” Harry says with such certainty that Louis’ not sure if he’s the same lad that was having a near breakdown in line. 

Louis laughs at the optimism. “How about on Tuesday, me and my sister meet you up here so you’ve got some company in line?” He can feel his grin turning shy, coy almost. He really wants this to work, can’t let himself part from Harry’s side without a promise to see each other again. And  _ soon _ . “And then we can go for a bite afterwards?”

Harry’s head tilts each way once, considering, but then he’s grinning alongside Louis. “Only if I get to hold your hand again.”

“Of course!” Louis has to stop himself from actually cheering in his relief and excitement. “How else could I expect you to make it through?” 

Harry giggles and Louis’ absolutely enchanted by the sound. “So. Harry Styles, 24.” He reaches into his back pocket and grabs his phone. “Can I get your number?” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on:  
> [Twitter](http://twitter.com/sapphicbee) | [Tumblr](http://fourdrunksluts.tumblr.com)


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